Tryptich
by Mandolina Lightrobber
Summary: Though it starts with just one, it takes three to despair. Introspective. /Anzu, Yami, Yuugi/
1. Left side

**A/N: **Written for a _78 tarot_ writing community over at LiveJournal, using the prompts _24 - Ace of Cups_, _28 - Two of Cups_, and _32 - Three of Cups, _respectively. It's not one story, but rather three separate ones, linked together by the same connotations: love – though sometimes one-sided -, promises kept (though not to the ends originally intended), feelings not returned, and rifts in relationships. It starts with only one, but it takes three to despair.

**Warnings: **worksafe.

**Disclaimer:** _Yuugiou_ is the property of Kazuki Takahashi and all associated companies. No claim of ownership is being made with this, no copyright infringement intended with this, and no profit is being made from this. Please support the original creators by buying their production.

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**Triptych**

**Left side**

Anzu had always considered Yuugi to be the kind of friend she could always rely on. She could trust him, she knew that he wouldn't try anything funny, and they could have unlimited fun together. He'd cheer her up if she felt down and would make her believe in herself whenever she wavered (which wasn't all that often, but definitely more than Jou or Honda got to see). She wouldn't, however, consider going out with Yuugi. They were just too perfect as best friends and a part of her didn't want to ruin that. While the other part of her… Well, there was Yami.

Yami was Anzu's dream come true. From the first moment she saw him, she knew that he was The One. She had been the first one to notice the changes in Yuugi, even before Yami himself had went on to explain everything about his true identity – or lack of it – because she was closer to Yuugi than Jou and Honda. And she fell in love with him; terribly, utterly, impossibly. Yami, however, did not respond with the same. He would have much rather considered her a good friend – just as Yuugi did.

Anzu didn't think it tactless to ask Yuugi's help in arranging a date with the Pharaoh. She wasn't brave enough to ask him in person, correctly guessing that the spirit was too concerned with his own problems to regard her. And Yuugi was too in love with her to refuse. Yuugi had hoped that this selfless move (though not as selfless as he wanted himself to believe), no matter how heartbreaking, would make Anzu see him as something more, but alas! It only made her more distant, though Anzu didn't notice any of this. To her, Yuugi was still her friend, still a person whom she could turn to and a person whom she would help, no matter what. She just didn't know how to express it properly, and all her attempts at it tended to go terribly astray.

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**A/N:** _Ace of Cups _- stands for either love or a rift in a relationship.


	2. Centrepiece

**Warnings: **worksafe.

**Disclaimer:** _Yuugiou_ is the property of Kazuki Takahashi and all associated companies. No claim of ownership is being made with this, no copyright infringement intended with this, and no profit is being made from this. Please support the original creators by buying their production.

* * *

**Triptych**

**Centrepiece**

The date with Anzu, Yami dared to admit, was okay. Even if it had been filled with weird accidents and odd situations, and even if he hadn't heard half of what she'd said to him, being too overtaken with the problem of his own forgotten identity. But it certainly wasn't something he would want to repeat. Not because he didn't like Anzu – he did, as a friend –, but because he didn't have the time to deal with lovers or otherwise romantic relationships. He also wasn't blind to Yuugi's feelings, and could only ponder the cruelty of the situation when he, someone out of this world, received the love which the rightful inhabitant of this era and this body deserved.

Briefly, Yami entertained a thought that in a different situation and under different circumstances he could have responded to her feelings. But he'd learned all too well that people kept too close to one's heart were nothing but bargaining chips in cruel hands. He did not wish to go through the same pain and heartbreak all over again.

Yes, it was selfish; he admitted this easily. It was, perhaps, the only definite thing that he knew when he had forgotten everything else. Friends were prime targets, but lovers held an entirely different weight, and Yuugi didn't deserve losing more than he'd already had to sacrifice. Therefore going out on a one date with Anzu was the only thing, the only favour he would ever do, and nothing beyond that.

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**A/N:** _Two of Cups _- stands for either love and promises kept, or unanswered feelings.


	3. Right side

**Warnings: **worksafe.

**Disclaimer:** _Yuugiou_ is the property of Kazuki Takahashi and all associated companies. No claim of ownership is being made with this, no copyright infringement intended with this, and no profit is being made from this. Please support the original creators by buying their production.

* * *

**Triptych**

**Right side**

Yuugi watched Anzu change and these changes broke his heart. She wasn't treating him any differently than before – no, they were still friends. They could still hang out together, have a good time, talk about everything, but anything more than that was out of the question. He'd been too shy to approach her before Yami had come into his life, and after his appearance it became impossible. For one, he saw through his mind's eye, through their shared link, how Anzu looked at Yami. He could hear it in her voice – that love and admiration. And with each day he realised how further away they got from each other. He could no longer ask her out without doubting her motives. He now would never be able to stop questioning her; and himself as well. Was she with him only because Yami was a part of him? Or was she there because of him – the Yuugi she'd known for years?

In all honesty, Yuugi feared the answer. He feared that, once Yami left him, so would she. Even if she didn't love Yuugi, he was content to be her friend and didn't want to lose that. He would keep on loving her in silence. He would remain by her side the way she stayed by his, even if he couldn't shake off that smidgeon of doubt that without Yami, he would have none of this. He wasn't willing to admit this, though he knew it and pitied himself a little. How hypocritical he was!

Yet the rift in their relationship would never disappear. He was caught in a triangle – they all were – a devil's snare that wouldn't let him go and he had to learn to live with that. He'd learned already, in a way, but it didn't make things easier. It only made seeing the impossible that much clearer.

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**A/N:** _Three of Cups _- stands for coldness in a relationship.


End file.
